A claim of racial superiority denies our common humanity, our common sinfulness, our common salvation through faith in Christ, and God’s purpose to create a common new humanity in Christ.
You cannot preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and hold to any notion of racial superiority. It is impossible.
America has yet to deal with the lessons of our own history. We have never been utterly conquered so that we had to. The lessons of slavery and Jim Crow segregation–all predicated on claims of white supremacy–have yet to be fully learned or even fully acknowledged. Our walls are not made of concrete and barbed wire, but they remain walls. Our churches have sometimes defended those walls, to our everlasting shame.
Seen from Berlin, the news from Charlottesville is alarming. Seen as a Christian, the images are heartbreaking. The ideology of racial superiority is an evil anti-gospel that leads to eternal death.
-Albert Mohler, “Letter from Berlin: The Lessons of History and the Heresy of Racial Superiority,” August 13, 2017 (Link)
Below are a couple of Tweets I captured from Albert Mohler and Rick Holland, but first read the quote from James P. Boyce.
“I believe I see in all this the end of slavery. I believe we are cutting its throat, curtailing its domain. And I have been, and am, an ultra pro-slavery man.”
-James P. Boyce, founder, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
One may legitimately question why these men are paying tribute to men who held such views of slavery and blacks. Yet Al Mohler does not appear to have any sense of disconnect with the words he wrote at the top of this article and his actions which appear to be in direct contradiction to what he wrote.
I have come to expect this from Mohler. He is great at saying all the right things, but his actions indicate his words are hollow. I present you with Exhibit “A” and “B.”
I am still waiting for Mohler to renounce his support of C.J. Mahaney and specifically call for an independent investigation of the sexual abuse scandal and cover-up which occurred in Mahaney’s SGM denomination.
Now we have further evidence of Albert Mohler’s hollow words on racial equality.
On May 10, 2018, an interesting video appeared on YouTube. In the video, Paige Patterson revealed that Albert Mohler was a member of a secret organization on the campus of Southern Seminary called “Dodeka.” This secret society was an elitist club for whites only. Those who were extended an invitation to join Dodeka were judged to be the best and brightest young men among those pursuing their Master’s degree at Southern Seminary.
Gregory Wills, Southern Baptist church historian, in his book “Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1859-2009,” verified the existence of the secret society Dodeka at Southern Seminary. He wrote:
“Southern Seminary had long attracted many of the brightest ministerial students in the denomination. Many aspired to become great preachers, denominational leaders, and scholars. One group of these students, in particular, came to represent the highest denominational ambition – a secret society of twelve students known as Dodeka, after the Greek word meaning “twelve.” Other students heard rumors of the club’s existence and resented the idea of a club that seemed to thrive on elitist appeal.”
It seems those who became Dodeka members were placed on the fast track for advancement to influential positions within the Southern Baptist denomination. This confirms what Alex Grecian stated about secret societies in an article he wrote for the Huffington Post. Speaking in general terms about secret societies, Grecian stated:
“But beyond all the special handshakes and code words, there doesn’t seem to have been much point to most secret societies other than self-interest. Once an invitation was secured, membership in one of these societies guaranteed a person certain considerations: political favors, appointments to influential positions, business and financial opportunities. Some societies with a more religious (or perhaps sacrilegious) bent believed they could gain mystical abilities or accrue occult powers and artifacts.”
Below is the first video of two that I recorded from a YouTube video titled “Tea Talk With Dottie P. – Episode 1.” I made copies of the video because it has been my experience that videos like this frequently disappear from YouTube. If you wish to view the video on YouTube here is the link.
Paige Patterson does most of the talking – nothing unusual there!
In the second video (below) Patterson is asked whether W.A. Criswell or Herschel Hobbs were members of Dodeka. He responded that neither men were. Patterson is in error about Herschel Hobbs and while I cannot confirm whether W.A. Criswell was a member of Dodeka, based on his strong friendship with Herschel Hobbs it would not surprise me if W.A. Criswell was also a member.
David S. Dockery, in “The Life and Legacy of Herschel H. Hobbs (1907-1995)” wrote:
“During his years at the seminary, Hobbs developed strong friendships and created a wide-ranging network that would serve him well throughout his life. Many of these relationships grew out of his involvement in a “secret supper club” called Dodeka, the Greek word for twelve. Each year, twelve couples were invited to join this exclusive group. Herschel and Frances were received as members during their first year at the seminary (see Faith and Message, 63). Important friendships with W. A. Criswell and others were birthed during this time. Hobbs was the first guest preacher Criswell invited after he was called to the pastorate of the First Baptist Church, Dallas, TX. Hobbs also drove the “getaway car” at the wedding of W. A. and Betty Criswell.
Source (Endnote 9)
The video below is also a copy I made from a YouTube video. The full video may be seen here. The scene is a “Q and A” session between Southern Seminary students and Al Mohler. This occurred in 1993, shortly after Al Mohler, at the age of 33, was elected the 9th President of Southern Seminary.
The student was brave enough to question Mohler about his membership in Dodeka. Mohler termed Dodeka a “social group,” a “dinner society” that he and his wife took part in, and said, “frankly I would not be a part of a secret society.” He reassured the student that “there is nothing sinister there,” and as a Christian, he is opposed to any type of secrecy. Mohler then artfully painted Dodeka as just one of many campus clubs where fellowship takes place and said this was a very positive aspect.
Mohler obviously lied when he stated he would never be a part of a secret society. It has been established above that this is precisely what Dodeka was. Left unsaid was whether the Dodeka society was still in operation. I was also struck by the fact Mohler made no mention of the role Dodeka played in his amazingly rapid rise in the Southern Baptist bureaucracy. But then, that would undermine his narrative of Dodeka being a nice little social group.
What did take place at those Dodeka meetings? It’s hard to say without the testimony of an actual member. One interesting thing my blog partner, Janna found was the cryptic add below placed in the Louisville newspaper in 1959.
“AT the Dodeka Club banquet tonight, at the Glass House Restaurant, a person will select the word “problems.” David Hoy.”
I really do not know what to make of the add. David Hoy was at one time a student at Bob Jones University and Southern Seminary. After his schooling there he completely shed any vestiges of Christianity and became involved in the occult. Below is some information about Hoy.
“Dr. David Hoy, one of America’s foremost authorities on extrasensory perception, is a scholar of extraordinary psychic capacity. He has conducted a lifetime study of mind-to-mind communication and is world-renowned for his ESP experiences and research conducted under scientific conditions. He is also the author of several books on ESP, read by a large following in seven languages.
Dr. Hoy’s astonishing predictions have been well documented and proven to be 85% accurate. David Hoy predicted Bobby Goldsboro’s smash hit recording of “Honey” weeks before either of them ever heard of the song! Sixty days before the Silver Bridge collapsed into the Ohio River near Point Pleasant, W. Va., in 1967, David Hoy predicted the disaster on a taped program at radio station KDKA in Pittsburgh. Two years before Jackie Kennedy and Aristotle Onassis were wed, David Hoy predicted the match on Boston radio and TV! Two weeks before the assassination of Sen. Robert Kennedy, David Hoy predicted at Tusculum College in Greenville, Tenn., that Kennedy would win the California primary but that it would be fraught with tragedy! In January of 1969, David Hoy predicted that because of personal tragedy, Sen. Ted Kennedy would not run for the presidency in 1972!
Dr. Hoy’s methods of predicting future events are recounted in this monumental recording. His vast experience in the realm of extrasensory perception uniquely qualifies him to tell others how to awaken their psychic faculties and develop their own extrasensory potential. This album is the most explicit and interesting presentation of ESP development I have come across in my eight years of psychic study.”
Ronald E. Deckard – Specialist in Psychic Research
Source
Was Dodeka involved in the occult? I cannot say, but I will say that many secret societies are, and I find it very troubling that David Hoy was mentioned in the add for their meeting.
What is not in doubt, however, is that Dodeka was a racist secret society involving many of the top men in the Southern Baptist denomination. I call on Albert Mohler to come clean on what Dodeka’s actual purpose and goals were and what his involvement in the society entailed. Until such time as he does, his words on racial equality are hollow.
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